If McCarthy makes a fair showing in his own party, it may persuade Republicans to choose a candidate more dovish than President Johnson, Stanley H. Hoffmann, professor of Government, told a crowd last night in the Hilles Colloquium Room.

In a speech sponsored by the Committee for Effective Action, Hoffmann offered advice to concerned students on how to counter the prowar arguments they will be faced with during the Christmas vacation as they work for peace.

He told the students that their job was to convince the people that the government arguments are "wrong," and to "see to it that the number of people who support the war decreases from 60 to under 50 per cent."

Unconditional Negotiations?

Hoffmann said it is "fallacious to suppose there can be unconditional negotiations." His suggested answer to the Vietnam dilemma is negotiations based on the assumption that an interim government composed of representation from both sides will be set up, that elections will be held in the South under international supervision, and that all foreign armies will be withdrawn.

The present administration could not bring about such a solution because, Hoffmann said, the "government is too deeply involved in its own arguments. What we need is some kind of President who has the sense to wage a strategic retreat from Vietnam."

Among the printed material distributed at the meeting were folders on how to write letters to Congressmen and to the President, and statements by six military leaders on why they oppose the war in Vietnam.